Great presentations, thank you for archiving them. Good selections of content from the "Content Director" at Design News (though the sequence seems a bit off, the archiving remedies that), and wonderful to have presenters such as Dr. Fitzgerald and others ...

Just one note to people. If you want a digital interface: Pay attention to whether you are buying a SPI or a Two Wire (TWI, I2C) interface. I find the TWI easier to use on my particular controllers. See the Arduino website for C+ libraries and examples if you are just starting out. The issue with analog inputs for accelerometers etc is noise from adjacent leads on the ADC. It makes it tougher to ferret out small signals.

Thank you for the lectures. I'm trying myself to teach my students some basics on MEMS embedded into a microsystems&microcontrollers course. We use(d) JMBADGE from Freescale as evaluation/development kit. Any advise on making the MEMS part of the course more and more attractive would be greatly appreciated.

Alex, how do I reply to chat messages directly? The one you see a @Name in the begining?

Answer:

On your keyboard, press and hold down your shift key. While holding down the shift key, press and release the numeric 2 key at the top of your keyboard. Next, release the shift key and type the name of handle of the person you wish to address.

@Dr.Fitzgerald - thanks, it's been an interesting lecture. Since you mentioned that MEMS research is lagging about 20 yrs behind semiconductors - provided that electronic components went from many moving parts to less (potentiometers and variable capacitors vs digital potentiometers and capacitive touch solitions) together with minituarization, should we expect in 10-20 yrs that MEMS will be mostly fixed parts? Would that help with being so shock-sensitive and easy to destroy?

@vectorhappy: yes, there are buffering agents that can be placed in front of pressure sensors to protect them from corrosive/wet environments. A low modulus gel is most typical, or an oil-sealed package.

@Steven: Yes, MEMS for neural probes are being extensively investigated. U of Michigan is a leader in this field. I still consider them MEMS even though they are not moving b/c they are fabricated by MEMS techniques. Research is still being done on biocompatibility of silicon - check out research by Prof. Shuvo Roy at UCSF.

For those wanting to play with MEMS sensors, some of the microcontroller demo now boards have them and include sample code. The ARM Cortex M4 boards form ST Micro and TI have 3 axis accelerometers. I'm sure there's more but those are the ones I've used.

Regarding references, I have not yet seen MEMS for Dummies or a MEMS Designer's Cookbook, but check with manufacturers, they are developing all sorts of Design Kits to make your job easier. (and so that you can buy lots of MEMS faster!)

Alex, how do I reply to chat messages directly? The one you see a @Name in the begining?

Answer:

On your keyboard, press and hold down your shift key. While holding down the shift key, press and release the numeric 2 key at the top of your keyboard. Next, release the shift key and type the name of handle of the person you wish to address.

Alissa - this has mostly been all new to me - hits me as "wicked cool stuff!" You're already familiar with all this - what MEMS have you seen (or is coming) that makes your eyes bug out and exclaim "wicked cool!" ?

I pretty much found it all fascinating - having lived through computers going from room-size to refrigerator-size to desktops to notebooks to phones more powerful than many desktop machines of just a few years back, it looks like the same is happening with MEMS - mind-boggling to think of where we'll get in a few years. (especially medical applications!)

@Alissa: is the possibility of using other matherials than silicone being investigated for MEMS production? As example, Graphene Oxide and Monooxide (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, web page article http://www.techthefuture.com/technology/accidental-discovery-advances-graphene-based-electronics/), but 200 times stronger than steel with all properties of insulators, conductors and semiconductors

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Industrial workplaces are governed by OSHA rules, but this isnít to say that rules are always followed. While injuries happen on production floors for a variety of reasons, of the top 10 OSHA rules that are most often ignored in industrial settings, two directly involve machine design: lockout/tagout procedures (LO/TO) and machine guarding.

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